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UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT of AGRICULTURE 

DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 252 



Washington, D. C. December, 1922 



PREPARATION OF PEAT COMPOSTS 



ALFRED P. DACHNOWSKI 

Physiologist, Office of Soil Bacteriology Investigations 
Bureau of Plant Industry 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Advantages of composting with peat_ 1 

Peat defined 2 

Different kinds of peat 3 

Peat deposits and their structure 4 

Time of excavating peat 5 

Methods of excavating peat 5 

Directions for composting with peat_ 6 



Page. 

Composting with stable manure 7 

Composting with sewage 8 

Composting with fish scraps 9 

Composting with molasses waste 

from sugar factories 10 

Value of various kinds of peat com- 
posts 11 



ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSTING WITH PEAT. 

TN ITS NATURAL CONDITION peat is seldom satisfactory for 
use as a fertilizer. Without any preparation whatever raw peat 
is inferior in its effects to stable manure, and from the standpoint of 
economy the chemically treated peat and the " bacterized " peat pro- 
duct known commercially under various trade names can not as yet 
be recommended for fertilizer purposes. Much study and experi- 
mental work have been done to utilize peat for the inoculation of 
soils with bacteria, but the results have been disappointing in most 
cases, and some of them have been seriously questioned hj investi- 
gators who have repeated the experiments. The best means of tak- 
ing full advantage of the inert valuable qualities of peat is through 
composting. 

Peat has several characteristics which are of value in preparing 
composts. 

It has a great power of absorbing and retaining ammonia as well as water 
if properly dried, sbredded, and used as litter for making compost manure. 
The more noteworthy data on the absorbing power of peat litter have been 
summarized on page 27 of United States Department of Agriculture Bulletin 
No. 802 (Table 2).' 

^ Dachnowski, Alfred P. Quality and value of important types of peat material. U. S. 
Dept. Agr. Bui. 802, 40 p. 1919. Literature cited, p. 39-40. 

18556—22 



2 Department Circular 252, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

It amends the physical condition when applied to cold, dry, and leachy soils 
as well-rotted compost ; the manured soil is made warmer and more retentive 
of moisture than by means of mineral fertilizers. The meliorated soil follows 
less rapidly the extremes during rapid changes in the atmosphere, and the 
organic matter maintains more even conditions when the rainfall is light during 
the growing season. 

It deodorizes and promotes the decay of animal refuse derived from stock- 
yards, slaughterhouses, fisheries, and sewage-disposal plants. With enough 
moisture and air, this causes changes that benefit not only bacteria but event- 
ually the higher plants, including subsequent crops which utilize the available 
phosphorus and potassium derived from these animal substances. 

It modifies the disintegration of plant wastes furnished by green-manure 
crops or derived from truck farming, beet and sugar-cane refineries, and can- 
ning industries. The condition of good tilth in the soil is facilitated by the 
presence in peat of decaying substances from green vegetable matter. 

It is a great source of carbonic acid and to a less extent of other acids. 
Through the formation of these products during peat decomposition the solubil- 
ity of mineral salts and fertilizers is effected indirectly. Moderate applica- 
tions of lime promote decay in composts and produce conditions favorable to 
beneficial soil organisms. 

It is a constant supply of a most indispensable form of gaseous plant-food 
material ; carbon-dioxid gas produced in the process of compost decay in the 
soil is absorbed and utilized by the aerial portion of green plants in making 
starch and sugar when exposed to sunshine. 

It yields a large volume of organic matter which is valuable not only as a 
soil amendment when properly composted but is serviceable also as a source 
of energy to bacteria which fix the nitrogen supplied by the air. Various other 
bacteria can utilize the organic nitrogen in composted peat. They make it over 
into a much-needed food material in an available form whenever temperature 
and moisture conditions are favorable. 

It saves the roughage from cereal crops for feeding purposes when straw 
is replaced by peat litter as bedding material for live stock. 

PEAT DEFINED. 

Great differences are found in the rapidity with which decompo- 
sition in peat takes place. The decay of different types of plant 
remains presents some peculiarities, and hence a good degree of 
caution is advisable in choosing peat deposits. It is worthy of notice 
in this connection that peat is the name given to accumulated 
layers of plant material that vary greatly in texture and quality. 
Peat deposits should be investigated carefully, especially with ref- 
erence to the kinds of material and the order in which the different 
layers of peat lie on one another, before the question of their utiliza- 
tion is considered. 

Peat is the general name applied to the remains of plants which 
at one time formed an aquatic vegetation, or a marsh of coarse 
sedges or tall reeds, a bog of mosses and heaths, or a swamp of shrubs 
and trees. A peat deposit is therefore the result of the accumulation 
of many generations of plants from one or several groups of vegeta- 
tion and in all cases contains at least one or more layers of different 
kinds of material. On that account the term " peat " is restricted 
in its meaning to a compact and well-shrunken mass of organic 
material which accumulated in water or under conditions of a rising 
water level and varies in thickness from about 8 to 10 inches up- 
ward. Muck, on the other hand, is the finely divided plant debris 
on any surface portion of peat land which has been cleared and culti- 
vated for farming purposes. The term " muck " is applied correctly 
to disintegrated organic matter which con tains more than 40 per cent 
of mineral material. l bRARv r>F cc- -•■- ■ 

BEqeivFD 

DfC^i 11929 

DIVISION OF DOCUMEN'^r,. 



\ 2) 

5\^^ Preparation of Peat Composts. 3 

y DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEAT. 

Different types of peat and their physical and chemical peculiari- 
ties have been described in former publications,^ and the localities 
near which layers of peat material are displayed in typical form at 
or somewhat below the surface of a peat deposit have also been 
sjDecified.^ 

The litter and composting value of different kinds of peat may 
l^erhaps be better understood by making a fundamental distinction 
between heavy and light types of peat material, leaving gradations 
between them within an intermediate group. 

As a rule the heavy types of peat are dark colored and dense ; they 
consist of small fragments derived from various kinds of vegetation. 
The macerated material is often referred to as " well-decomposed peat 
or muck," but a close examination shows the presence of shells, di- 
atoms, sponge spicules, and other debris in varying quantity. This in- 
dicates that the plant debris had accumulated in standing water or 
Avas formed under conditions of a high water level. When heavy peat 
soils containing large quantities of spicules are plowed or culti- 
vated they are popularly known as '' itchy muck," on account of 
the burning and itching sensation which is caused by the sliarp- 
])ointed siliceous material penetrating the skin of men and animals. 
The polishing and abrading effect on the tools and implements used 
also comes from these microscopic components. In the case of dense, 
blackish, coherent peat materials decay is nearly as rapid as in 
well-rotted stable manure, but under certain circumstances the use 
of these types of peat may become disadvantageous. The finely 
divided jellylike type of peat becomes very hard when dr}^, while the 
pulpy or macerated plant debris often contains resistant waxy and 
resinous substances, considerable quantities of soluble salts, or noxious 
substances, usually compounds of sulphur, which can become liarmful 
to crops. The mineral soil, springs, seepage water, and the character 
of tlie geology of the locality are of considerable influence in this 
respect. The peat formed from the decay of waxy herbaceous and 
resinous woody evergreens does not appear to be injurious unless the 
substances resist decay and accumulate in large quantities. 

Some of the heavy peats are noteworthy because of their relatively 
hig]i organic nitrogen content, but this should not be looked upon 
necessarily as an important factor in judging their composting value. 
The nitrogenous compounds have a very slow disintegration capacity, 
and in this form they do not meet the agricultural requirements for 
soluble nitrogen. 

The light, spongy, fibrous group of peat materials, which is more 
commonly red, brown, or gray in color, does not contain the aquatic 
admixture or any of its deleterious substances. Loose and fibrous 
types of peat from mosses and sedges were formed under conditions of 
low water level. They are but little advanced in decomposition, 



2 Dachnowski, Alfred P. Op. cit. 

Peat deposits of Ohio. Geol. Siirv. Ohio Bui. IG, 424 p., 29 fig., 8 pi., 1 folded 

map. 1912. Bibliographical footnotes. 

" Dachnowski, Alfred P. Peat deposits and their evidence of climatic changes. In 
Bot. Gaz., V. 72, p. 57-89, 12 fig. 1921. Literature cited, p. 87-89. 

• — ■ — ■ — • The correlation of time units and climatic changes in peat deposits of the 
United States and Europe. In Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., v. 8, p. 225-231. 1922. Literature 
cited, p. 230-231. 



4 Department Circular 252, JJ. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

and their decay proceeds at varying rates, depending upon their bo- 
tanical composition and texture. During disintegration the softer 
cellulosic components usually disappear first. They are energetic 
and rapid in their action, and peat materials of that character should 
probably be used in smaller quantities to produce composts with the 
fertilizing effects of stable manure. The harder and more resistant 
portions of vegetable matter, known as the ligneous and chitinous 
material, disappear more gradually and seem to disintegrate slowly 
through a series of steps. Thus, this material has a more steady 
and lasting effect, but in comparison with the fertilizer value of stand- 
ard stable manure it would need to be applied in larger quantities. 
It has not yet been shown conclusively that fibrous peat materials will 
produce nitrates on a large scale if composted with nodule legumes or 
if inoculated with nitrifying microorganisms, but these types would 
probably be preferable to the heavy peat materials. The practice has 
been to burn off the fibrous surface layers, since they are quite re- 
sistant to cutting, plowing, and weathering. They become brittle 
when overdrained, and the softer portion of the plant remains, such 
as rootlets, small leaves, and bits of plant tissue, break down into 
a dust or " mull." In many respects the light types are preferable to 
heavy peat if properly excavated and seasoned, and they are greatly 
to be recommended for litter and various composting purposes. 

PEAT DEPOSITS AND THEIR STRUCTURE. 

Deposits of peat are found in a number of States, generally occur- 
ring in basins which formerly were occupied by lakes or ponds. De- 
posits of this kind are known as " water-laid," since the bottom layers 
consist of the pulp}', compact, broken-down plant material which 
accumulates only in water and is derived from different kinds of 
vegetation. Above these layers the plant remains are more or less 
fibrous or Avoody and granular, and they are quite unlike those at the 
bottom in appearance and quality. 

Occasionally peat may be found on flat but relatively moist land^ 
This forms the "land-laid " group of deposits, as the mineral soil on 
which the deposit is resting still contains the roots of marsh or forest 
vegetation that at one time occupied the area. The light fibrous and 
the woody granular kinds of peat are in general to be found in de- 
posits wherever the water level rose slowly and at about the same 
rate as the addition of plant remains to the deposit. 

Along streams are peat deposits which often show distinct seams 
of shell marl, of sand or silt due to overflows, or an admixture of min- 
eral matter washed in from the surrounding land. In this group of 
" overflow " deposits the light and the heavy compact layers of peat 
material are usually to be seen in an alternating order of position, 
due to the fluctuating condition of the water level. The salt marshes 
in bays and estuaries along the seashore which are overflowed by the 
tides of the ocean show a similar structure. 

Saturation with water as well as the exclusion of air and the lower 
temperature which result from the lack of drainage have been among 
the principal causes of peat accumulation; they are also the factors 
which have prevented the processes of decay observed in the case of 
surface layers of cleared and cultivated peat land. 



Preparation of Peat Composts. 5 

TIME OF EXCAVATING PEAT. 

A clear understanding must, first of all, be obtained concerning 
the stratification and drainage capacity of the peat deposit selected 
for excavating. The character and quality of the mineral subsoil 
and of the different layers of peat should also be noted in some detail. 
The time for the various operations involved in excavating the peat 
should be decided upon with reference to season and available labor. 
In the case of the small farmer, working for his own needs, the time 
for excavation should fit in .Avith the regular farm practice and be so 
arranged as to cause the least interference with the usual seasonal 
agricultural o^Derations. Late autumn, winter, and early spring 
should be the period chosen for cutting and harvesting peat, not only 
because there is less other farm work to attend to at that season, labor 
is cheaper, and the peat can be more easily loaded and carted away, 
but mainly because freezing and thawing aid greatly the disintegra- 
tion of the moist fibrous material that is dug out of a deposit. A dry 
summer is also appropriate, as the peat deposit then generally has a 
lower water level and is more accessible to men, teams, and machin- 
ery. The excavating operations should be extensive during favor- 
able dry weather, so that in a rainy season composts may be made 
from the stock pile. 

In order to prevent the wasteful use of peat deposits and to insure 
leaving the land area in a condition suitable for future agricultural 
use, the excavating of peat should not be carried on without proper 
plans and some organization. The necessity of draining a peat de- 
posit effectively and of controlling water-level condition renders it 
essential that the whole area of peat land should be under one juris- 
diction, so that it may be dealt with as a whole. The advantages of 
extensive platting and of transportation by the most convenient route 
also emphasize the advisability of having the area under proper 
supervision or cooperation. 

METHODS OF EXCAVATING PEAT. 

The operations for excavating peat are of several kinds. Briefly 
summarized, they are as follows : 

Hand cutting. — This method, which is extensively used in Holland and 
other European countries, involves the use of specially constructed spades. 
The wing slane is a spado with a blade 12 inches long by 5 to 6 inches wide, 
having a wing or cutting lug projecting at right angles from the right-hand edge, 
the wing measuring about 6 inches in length. It cuts sods with the long axis in 
a vertical direction. The breast slane is a spade with a blade 14 inches long 
by 5 inches wide with sharp cutting edges. It is mounted on a short handle, 
the length over all being 3 feet 6 inches. The sods are cut with the long axis 
horizontal, the direction in which the fibrous plant remains lie. To excavate 
and collect the material economically a plan is devised whereby the peat 
deposit is sufficiently drained, cleared from its surface vegetation, and di- 
vided by a main roadway, through its center whenever possible. Running 
parallel to the road on each side is a main ditch, about 4 feet wide at the top, 
5 feet deep, and 2 feet wide at the bottom. Provision is made by suitable 
means to control the water level. At distances of about 100 yards minor 
ditches are dug parallel to each other but at right angles to the direction of 
the main road and its ditches. Along these minor ditches strips are laid off 
as collecting and stacking ground, each about 12 yards wide. The field is 
again divided by running a series of small surface ditches, 2 feet wide and 3 
feet deep, at distances of about 11 yards from each other, paralleling the 
main road. After the surface of the deposit has been cleared the peat is dug 

18556—22 2 



6 Department Circular 252, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

in brick form with the slane spade. From the faces of the minor ditches, 
strips or trenches 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep, the peat is cut with the slane 
in the form of sods about 8 to 12 inches long and 4 by 4 inches in cross sec- 
tion. The excavated peat is placed on top of the cutting and without further 
handling is left to dry in the air. After a week or more, depending on the 
weather, it is " footed," i. e., built up so as to allow the free passage of air 
through the pile; later it is placed in larger stacks or on covered racks. At 
the end of a few weeks the peat blocks are removed and ground into " litter " 
as required. The best quality of litter should have a water content not to 
exceed 25 per cent, and its ash content should not be more than 5 per cent. 
In some localities the air-dry peat sods are put through a shredder combined 
with a rotary screen to separate the dust or mull. In other localities a silage 
cutter is used, and the pulverized material is blown into a storage bin. To 
prevent overheating and dust explosions the bin should be well ventilated. 
It is preferable to have the litter and the mull material separately baled in 
burlap or in a press and the bales made secure with laths of wood and bound 
with wire. The hand-cutting method entails much labor and requires a long 
season. This makes the product expensive except for large-scale requirements, 
and the process may not be profitable unless the use of litter and mull cau 
be extended to other purposes, such as insulation, the packing of fragile goods, 
fruits, tubers, bulbs, and garden plants, and the storage of vegetables and ice. 

Excavation by plotcing. — In these operations the peat deposit is first cleared 
and drained in some advantageous manner by open ditches or tile. The surface 
peat is then prepared by plowing deep furrows and collecting the fibrous sod or 
harrowing and disking the material and leaving it in that state during the 
winter. The following spring the material is thoroughly harrowed into a 
finely divided condition, spread out in a thin, loose layer, and exposed to the 
air. The peat should be free from lumps in order that it may be mixed thor- 
oughly with the ingredient to be composted with it. During a dry period it is 
scraped into heaps and hauled into a storage shed with sides opening for venti- 
lation. The excavation and drying of peat by this method have been done at a 
comparatively small cost in time and labor, and considerable quantities of litter 
can be obtained in this manner. 

Machine excavation. — For an output on a larger scale, which might follow 
logically as a step in the development of a composting industry, it would appear 
that economy suggests the use of machinery suitable for excavating and 
transporting raw materials. To replace the hand-slane method previously 
described, peat-cutting machines are used in deposits which are free from 
trunks, stumps, and roots of trees. Machines of the ladder-dredge type with 
continuously rotating excavating buckets fixed on a chain or the common dipper 
dredge may be used with success. Light excavators with large caterpillars are 
employed on drained peat land, and these in a modified form, supported on a 
floating scow, are used for water-logged peat deposits. After excavating, the 
moist peat should be piled and stored in mounds of considerable height and kept 
under some kind of cover, if possible. During storage the plant remains shrink 
considerably in volume and undergo a slow internal heating, granulating, and 
carbonizing process. The decomposition of resistant materials may be hastened 
by the use of exhaust steam or a live steam spray. By the piling method even 
the coarsest fibrous material in time will become reduced to a state of division 
which will admit of its profitable employment for various uses. 

In forming an opinion on the relative merits of the various kinds 
of machines used in excavating, shredding, and pressing litter peat 
access should be had to technical journals, and the publications which 
deal with the manufacture of litter on a large scale should be con- 
sulted. A safe conclusion as to the type of machine best adapted can 
be arrived at only when the stratification of the peat deposit and the 
individual merits of the machines have been considered in relation 
to each other and tested in that connection. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COMPOSTING WITH PEAT. 

At the outset it should be restated that fibrous types of peat which 
may be cut in sods or blocks must be air dried and shredded to make a 
litter or else subjected to frost. Freezing breaks up the fibers, makes 



Preparation of Peat Composts. 7 

them softer and more elastic, facilitates the subsequent drying, aids 
in reducing the material to the proper state of division, and brings 
about more active chemical and bacterial changes. To take ad- 
vantage of the action of frost, fibrous types of peat should be exposed 
in a wet condition to winter weather. It is not advantageous to dry 
or char the material by means of high temperature or chemicals. The 
resistance of very fibrous peat to decomposition can be decreased by 
finely shredding the material or by using a live steam spray. 

Another point to keep in mind is the possible presence of injurious 
substances, such as compounds of sulphur and iron. Such peat ma- 
terials need the addition of lime in a finely divided condition. Dark, 
heavy types of peat on that account are less suitable for litter and 
composting purposes. The better types of fibrous peat are those 
derived from mosses and sedges. Their use has in late years in- 
creased very greatly in Europe and to some extent in this country. 
At the present time a considerable quantity of this sort of litter is 
imported. 

It is obvious that composting w^ith peat is a process which requires 
some practical experience. Among the most essential factors mak- 
ing for the production of a good compost are a proper proportion 
of materials, a favorable supply of air, and suitable temperature 
and moisture conditions. Notwithstanding the fact that many farm- 
ers have proved in a manner conclusive to themselves that the out- 
put of organic fertilizers can be increased and may approximately 
be more than doubled if a share of time and labor is devoted to this 
work, the question of their economic value must rest on the yield of 
crops resulting from the use of such composts. 

A great variety of materials may, of course, be employed for 
making composts with peat, but there are comparatively few which 
allow of extensive and economical use. The following account will 
be confined to some of these. 

COMPOSTING WITH STABLE MANURE. 

The preparation of composts with stable manure is an old practice, 
published accounts of the use of such mixtures dating back to the 
eighteenth century. In the New England States composting stable 
manure with peat received consideralDle attention as early as 1850. 
A bushel basket of finely divided peat was placed every morniug 
behind each animal or sprinkled in each stall. When removed in the 
operation of cleaning the stable, the material, including the excre- 
ment, was well mixed with the liquid portion, the most important 
fertilizer component, and placed in a composting pit or out of doors 
on a layer of weathered peat several inches in thickness. This was 
covered with another layer of peat, and the operation of piling 
in alternate layers was repeated until a heap 3 to 4 feet was built 
up. From time to time the pile was forked over and well mixed. 

The proportions of stable manure and peat should vary somewhat, 
according to the quality of the manure and the texture and com- 
position of the peat materials. Composts of equal parts of peat and 
stable manure are regarded by some as equal to the same quantity 
of stable manure. Others recommend 2 parts of peat and 1 part 
of manure, or a proportion of 3 of peat to 1 of manure. Ex- 
perience is the best guide as to the relative quantities to be employed. 
With granular woody types of peat, or well-disintegrated material, 



8 Department Circular 252, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

two to five times the quantity of peat to each portion of fresh manure 
may be used to advantage, while in the case of the light, fibrous, 
brown or reddish kinds of peat equal parts of manure and peat by 
bulk may give good results. In cold weather and in the Northern 
States a larger proportion of fresh manure is required. It is useful 
also to supplement the composts with clay, sod-loam, or mineral- 
fertilizer ingredients, notably ground rock phosphate or potash, in 
varying projDortions, as may be required. The heap may be 6 to 8 feet 
wide and indefinitely long. Composts with coarse fibrous peat should 
remain in a compact pile out of doors at least six months. They should 
be located in a shady, cool, well-ventilated place, kept in a fairly 
moist condition, and should be shoveled or forked over at least twice 
at the heap. Weed seeds carried by the manure in the compost pile 
will be killed by the increasing heat, which results mainly from the 
action of molds and bacteria. If the pile gets too hot in summer, it 
should be turned over, and in doing this a little more of the fibrous 
peat should be added. Peat used in this manner in concentration 
camps for horses, cattle, poultry, and other live stock becomes trans- 
formed into a rich black manure and should make a valuable organic 
fertilizer. 

COMPOSTING WITH SEWAGE. 

The possibilities of the use of peat as a deodorizing absorbent and 
for conserving the fertilizer value of human excreta have been recog- 
nized in several European countries, notably in Sweden. Observa- 
tions of tests extending over a number of years weighed in connec- 
tion with the results of the practice from the point of view of profit- 
able returns have convinced many that sewage composts have not 
received the attention they deserve. Local requirements frequently 
can not be met by flushing with running water, and the use of leach- 
ing cesspools, of abandoned wells, or of convenient streams can not 
be too strongly condemned, because they constitute a nuisance and 
are the source of transmission of disease germs through water, flies, 
or by other means. 

The treatment of stable manure has already been discussed. The 
farmer can do no one thing so vital to his own welfare and that of 
the public as to use the same composting measures in treating the 
excretions in privies and closets, whether of the pit, vault, or pail 
type. To begin with, a thick layer of litter peat should be placed 
at the bottom of the receptacle. Dry, loose litter, or mull should be 
sprinkled on the night soil daily, as may be required, in the propor- 
tion of at least 3 to 10 parts of peat to 1 of solid matter by bulk. 
The process should be repeated until the accumulation must be re- 
moved. The receptacles when full should be cleaned out and the 
mass hauled to the composting field or pit and placed as a layer upon 
a bottom bed of peat several inches thick. A covering layer of litter 
will contribute greatly to the absorption of any strong, foul odors 
and aid in rapid and almost complete disintegration. Should signs 
of heating appear, the process of decay may attain a temperature in 
which disease germs, if present, are reduced in number and viru- 
lency. Rather than to drench the heap with water, additional peat 
should be forked into the pile and well mixed. If the precaution is 
taken to allow the time necessary for the decomposition of the peat 
and sewage mixture, there should be little danger of infectious ma- 



Preparation of Peat Composts. 9 

terial passing from the compost heap to the ground water.* In this 
manner fertihzer, and sanitation as well, can be provided effectively 
and at small expense for farm homes, for public dwellings, for small 
urban communities, and for labor and Army camps located in States 
-which contain peat deposits. 

The disposal by municipalities of the sludge produced at different 
sewage plants in large cities and the best method of recovering its 
fertilizer value are problems of no small economic possibilities. In 
a few cities sludge is sold to farmers and market gardeners in an 
air-dry condition. Sewage sludge promises to become a valuable 
manure when shredded fibrous peat in alternating layers is com- 
posted with the solid matter from settling tanks or when the jelly- 
like activated sludge is mixed and dewatered with dry mull peat. 
Layers of fibrous peat material may be used with advantage as 
filters or screens for the removal of finely suspended matter in the 
effluent and stored in heaps or composting pits. Any excess of oil or 
fatty material may be removed by solvents. By exposing the com- 
posted peat litter to the action of nitrogen-fixing organisms, which are 
usually present but will not function so long as ammonia remains 
imabsorbed, the quantity of available nitrogen may be increased. 
The addition of a neutralizing agent, such as is offered by crude salts 
of mineral fertilizers, will prove of advantage. This sort of com- 
posting should be done with mixing machinery and the mixture kept 
under cover in sheds or buildings attached to sewage plants. Steri- 
lization with steam is readily effected where the necessity arises to 
eradicate disease germs. The manufacture of organic manure from 
sewage composted with peat may be vastly extended with the utmost 
advantage to all concerned if proper attention is given to the length 
of time necessary for the sewage compost to become well decomposed 
a,nd sanitarily safe. Should this practice become established more 
generally, the centers of truck farming located near cities in the peat- 
land regions of this country would be able to obtain or produce their 
own organic fertilizer for early and late crops and for use during 
cool seasons in which a warm, manured seed bed is essential. 

COMPOSTING WITH FISH SCRAPS. 

The composting with the refuse from public markets or from 
other sources of easily decomposed animal waste, such as condemned 
storage eggs, should be carried on in a manner similar to that alread}^ 
described. Composting avoids the extremely disagreeable odor which 
is produced when wastes of this kind are allowed to putrefy. The 
content of various fertilizer constituents supplied by the animal 
matter and the peat as well, such as potash and phosphorus, become 
available to the roots of crop plants when a well-decomposed com- 
post is applied in the field. Along the coast it has been the prac- 
tice in a few places to compost any variety of fish scraps with peat 
or muck from the swamps and marshes near by. Accounts of these 
operations have been given by Johnson, from whose work^ (p. 70) 
the following extracts relating to methods of composting are taken : 

During the pres^ent season (1858) we have composted about 2,000,000 wliite 
fish with about 700 loads (17,500 bushels) of muck. We vary the proportions 

* Vogel, J. H., et al. Die keimtotende Wirkung des Torfmulls. Aufl. 2. Arb. Deut. 
Lrandw. Gesell., Heft 1, 125 p. 1894. 

» Johnson, Samuel W. Peat and its uses. 168 p., 25 flg. New York. 1866. 



10 Department Circular 252, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

somewhat according to the crop the compost is intended for. For rye we 
apply 20 to 25 loads per acre of a compost made with 4,500 fish (one load), 
and with this manuring, no matter how poor the soil, the rye will be as large 
as a man can cradle. Much of ours we have to reap. For oats we use less 
fish, as this ci'op is apt to lodge. For corn, 1 part fish to 10 to 12 muck is about 
right, while for grass or any top-dressing the proportion of fish may be in- 
creased. 

We find it best to mix the fish In the summer and not use the compost until 
the next spring and summer. Yet we are obliged to use in September for our 
winter rye a great deal of the compost made in July. We usually compost the 
first arrivals of fish in Jime for our winter grain ; after this pile has stood three 
or four weeks it is worked over thoroughly. In this space of time the fish 
become pretty well decomposed, though they still preserve their form and smell 
outrageously. As the pile is worked over a sprinkling of muck or plaster is 
given to retain any escaping ammonia. At the time of use in September the 
fish have completely disappeared, bones and fins excepted. 

The effect on the nuick is to blacken it and make it more loose and crumbly. 
As to the results of the use of this compost, we find them in the highest degree 
satisfactoi-y. AVe have raised 30 to 35 bushels of rye per acre on land that 
without it could have yielded 6 to 8 bushels at the utmost. This j^ear we have 
corn that will give 60 to 70 bushels per acre that otherwise would yield but 
20 to 25 bushels. It makes large potatoes, excellent turnips and carrots. 

Fish compost thus pi-epared is a uniform mass of fishy but not putrefactive 
odor, not disagreeable to handle. It retains perfectly all the fertilizing^ 
power of the fish. Lands manured with this compost will keep in heart and 
improve. 

COMPOSTING WITH MOLASSES WASTE FROM SUGAR FACTORIES. 

The growing of sugar beets on the northern peat deposits and 
of sugar cane on peat lands in the Southern States has assumed 
proportions of the highest importance in view of the fact that the 
sugar refinery is usually located near the fields and is an indispen- 
sable aid in handling and disposing of the crop. The possibilities 
of using the waste products of a sugar factory in connection with the 
production of organic manures from fibrous peat have hardly been 
recognized. Growers of truck crops have observed that leafy trim- 
mings and green crops when plowed under in fibrous-peat soils pro- 
mote disintegration and enrich the soil ; they add starch and cellulose 
as a source of energy for the action of bacteria which fix the nitrogen 
gathered from the air. The pulp and trimmings from sugar beets 
when composted in a similar manner with alternating layers of peat 
and allowed to remain in a heap are converted into an effective 
manure. Carbon (charcoal) from peat used for clarifying and for 
decolorizing solutions of sugar and the molasses waste contain a 
large proportion of potash. A manure can be prepared by sprinkling 
discarded charcoal filters or diluted solutions of the molasses sludge 
upon thin layers of fibrous peat, part of which has been previously 
composted with fresh stable manure. 

In order to retain its great absorbent capacity and composting 
value the peat material should not be dried artificially but by wind 
and sun only, and it should be free from lumps. The molasses-waste 
ingredients should be added, if possible, daily for about three weeks 
and thoroughly mixed by shoveling. Mineral fertilizers are added 
as required. The mass should be thrown up into flat heaps about 2 
or 3 feet high, covered with a few inches of dry peat, so as to 
retain the moisture and heat, and allowed to stand. The time re- 
quired will vary with the kind of peat used and the quality of the 
added material. Seasonal conditions and the degree of mixture also 



Preparation of Peat Composts. 11 

will affect materially the rapidity of decomposition ; hence the com- 
post should be prepared and later air-dried and stored under cover. 
There is evidence to indicate that the fermentation of the mixture 
has a tendenc}' to bring about the more ready action of beneficial 
bacteria. The use of this method should result in a very material 
contribution to the supply of organic fertilizers. 

VALUE OF VARIOUS KINDS OF PEAT COMPOSTS. 

It is evident that in connection with the use of sugar-factory 
Avastes, as in the case of the disposal of city sewage, the lime sludge 
from sulphate paper mills, frosted crops, and deteriorated foods, 
including cereals, more extended investigations should be conducted. 
Tests should be made in the field and in the greenhouse to determine 
how much compost should be applied and when and the effect of 
each kind on the yield of crops. Various considerations will doubt- 
less control the relative value of the different kinds of compost with 
reference to soil enrichment and crop returns. It will not be difficult, 
however, to determine the possibilities of the use of peat litter and of 
composting with peat in connection with a successful and economical 
method of supplying organic manure. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



000 937 498 P 

PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT OF COMPOSTING 
WITH PEAT AND MUCK. 

PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 

Bkown, Simon. , , . ^ ^ ^ f 

1857. On the value and uses of swamp muck. In Ann. Rpt. Comm. ol 
Patents, 1856, p. 182-198. 

Beal, W. H. . „ , „^ ^pt oo 

1894. Barnyard manure. In U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers Bui. 21, p. 17, 28, 

BoN STEEL, Jay A. 

1912. Muck and peat. In U. S. Bur. Soils Circ. 65, p. 12. 

Dachnowski, Alfred P. ^ . , r tt o 

1919. Quality and value of important types of peat material. In U. b. 
Dept. Agr. Bui. 802, p. 25, 31. 

PUBLICATIONS OF STATE EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 

Neal J. C. 

1889. Muck composting. In Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 7, p. 18-19. 

Feeae, William, and Haley, E. J. ^ (^ ^ -.ook 

1896. Some Pennsylvania peats. In Ann. Rpt. Pa. State <^oi. 1895, 
p. 151-152. 

Huston, H. A., and Bryan, A. H. ..„„„-, /-.^^h 

1901. Swamp muck. In Ind. Agr. Exp. Sta. 13th Ann. Rpt. [1899]/1901, 
p. 73-75. 

Woods, Chas. D. ^ , r 

1901 The manurial value of ashes, " mucks," seaweeds, and bone. Irt 
Maine Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 74, p. 7&-78. 

Hills, J. L., and Hollistek, F. M. 

1912. The peat and muck deposits of Vermont. In Vt. Agr. Exp. Sta, 
Bui. 165, p. 169. 

Robinson, C. S. ^ o, -r. , r>rTo 

1914. The utilization of muck lands. In Mich. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 27d,. 

p. 25-28. 
Manns, Thomas F., and Goheen, Joseph M. 

1916 A preliminary report on muck humus as a fertilizer and carrier of 
beneficial soil bacteria. In Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 115, p. 8-22. 

BuED, John S. ^ ^. ^^„ _ 

1918. Peat as a manure substitute. In Calif. Agr. Exp. Sta. Circ. 203, p. 7, 

Haetwell, Burt L., and Crandall, F. K. 

1922 The substitution of stable manure by fertilizers, green manures, and 
peat. In R. I. Agi-. Exp. Sta. Bui. 188, p. 8. 

12 



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